Coping with cold

Madison (WKOW) -- No matter where you live or visit, you'll encounter cool breezes, seasonal changes, and air conditioning.

For most of us, cool temperature shifts are no big deal, but those cold exposures are enough to make one group of people really sick.

Not long ago, sitting in front of an air conditioner would have sent a shiver down Marina Binichis' spine.

Marina has an unusual disorder that causes flu-like symptoms when she's exposed to the cold.

She said, "as the day would progress it would get worse, I would get more tired. Typically towards the latter part of the day, after work, I would come home and the chills and the shivers would start."

It took decades before doctors diagnosed Marina with a condition called CAPS.

Dr. Hoffman says understanding how interleukin-1 affects the immune system can be applied to other inflammatory conditions, such as asthma, and could mean new treatments to block that immune system over-reaction.